Noise pollution and the functional design of urban environments

The traffic of vehicles in the cities represents a major problem of air and acoustic pollution. The existence of this problem is widely known and therefore considerable efforts have been devoted to achieving an accurate knowledge of existing levels of pollution and to controlling such levels. However, little attention has been given to the analysis of the relationships between the distribution of pollution and urbanism. A good knowledge of these relationships would allow better prediction, analysis and prevention of such pollution through an effective design of urban environments. Recent studies have demonstrated the existence of significant differences between the sound levels of different typologies of urban roads according to their functionality. The noise stratification in the different cities studied with this method allows to affirm that the concept of functionality can be considered an interesting tool for urban planning and for the design of pollution prevention policies. Since traffic is a source of other urban pollutants, the concept of functionality may be a new concept useful for a broader management of environmental pollution. In this work, a review of its premises, procedures, contributions, advantages, drawbacks, applicability to the realization of noise maps, etc., will be carried out.